Chris Van Allsburg's story, The Wreck of the Zephyr, is one of my favorite all time reads. A story within a story, Allsburg expertly leaves the reader asking questions, needing to form opinions on his/her own. His words and illustrations can not be denied but it would be nice to tell this story without the book.

Telling Someone Else's Story

1. Give credit to the source and respect the copyright. Take steps to notify the author of the book and ask permission to tell his/her story to an audience. Written permission would be nice such as a letter or a well written email. This way you'll have it on record that you did make the effort to contact the author. Hope for the best by receiving a return letter or email.

2. If the author is deceased, the next best step is to contact the publisher of the book. In most cases, the publishers will grant you permission to tell the story (unless you are wanting to tell it for commercial gain). If this is the case, you'll need to work out an agreement.

3. When telling someone else's story, give credit to it by announcing the title and author.

A light breeze blew through the trees. The old man looked up. "Wind coming," he said. "I've got some sailing to do." He picked up a cane, and I watched as he limped slowly toward the harbor.

Teachers and Librarians: The Wreck of the Zephyr is a fabulous mentor text to use in your reading and writing workshops. Please check out the link I've provided below to get your juices flowing. One month of school to go - why not apply all of the reading and writing devices you've taught through out the year to this one book - you'll be amazed!

As a final note: This is the last post of our Blogging A-Z Challenge. I'd like to thank everyone of you who sponsored and cheered each blogger on! Thank you to all of my visitors to my blog. It meant the world to hear your responses! Please visit often. My blog remains active and filled with connections to reading, writing, and storytelling. I'm off to visit other blogs.